Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

State Aid for Local Transportation

Variances

Variances

Variance Committee meeting - Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Meeting details

Meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams. Presenters and those associated with a variance request are put into virtual waiting rooms until the committee is ready to hear presentations.

State Aid will monitor and provide access to each variance request presentation and, when the Variance Committee is ready, will give access to the presenter(s) and those who want to attend the variance request presentation(s).

Once a presentation is done and the committee has concluded the actions on a request, the presenters and the attendees will be dismissed from the meeting and, if any additional presentations remain, the next group of presenters will be given access for their presentation.

Those not part of the variance request presentation group(s) who wish to attend any of the variance request presentations can use the Teams meeting link and will be given access by the meeting organizer.

Variance packets

  1. Variance Request 20251218-01 (PDF), Chatham Township/Wright County – Non State Aid Bridge, is for a
    • Variance from 8820.9922 MINIMUM DESIGN STANDARDS; NEW BRIDGE, BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, OR BRIDGE REHABILITATION PROJECTS AND APPROACH ROADWAYS ON RURAL OR SUBURBAN UNDIVIDED ROADWAYS THAT ARE NOT ON THE STATE-AID SYSTEM.
    • The request is to allow the approach roadway horizontal and vertical alignment geometrics to be designed with a design speed of 15mph in lieu of a minimum design speed standard greater than or equal to 30 mph.
  2. Variance Request 20251218-02 (PDF) City of Rochester - Saint Anthony Avenue between Marion Street and Pascal Street, is for a
    • Variance from 8820.9995 MINIMUM OFF-ROAD AND SHARED USE PATH STANDARDS.
      • The request is to allow a reduce Shoulder/Clear Zone of 1-foot in lieu of the required minimum of 2-feet at identified locations.
  3. Variance Request 20251218-03 (PDF) City of Minneapolis - 35th Street, from Blaisdell Avenue to 3rd Avenue, is for a
    • Variance from 8820.9936 MINIMUM DESIGN STANDARDS, URBAN; NEW OR RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
      • The request is to allow a reduced lane width of 10-feet in lieu of the required minimum of 11-feet.
    • Variance from 8820.9941 MINIMUM DESIGN STANDARDS: ON-ROAD BICYCLE FACILITY FOR URBAN; NEW OR RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
      • The request is to allow a reduced lane width of 10-feet in lieu of the required minimum of 11-feet. (with on-road bicycle facility)
    • Variance from 8820.9995 MINIMUM OFF-ROAD AND SHARED USE PATH STANDARDS.
      • The request is to allow a reduce Shoulder/Clear Zone of 0.5-feet in lieu of the required minimum of 2-feet.
  4. Variance Request 20251218-04 (PDF) City of Saint Paul - Saint Anthony Avenue between Marion Street and Pascal Street, is for a
    • Variance from 8820.9936 MINIMUM DESIGN STANDARDS, URBAN; NEW OR RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
      • The request is to allow a reduced lane width of 10-feet in lieu of the required minimum of 11-feet on W 10th Street and Wabasha Street and
      • to allow a reduced 20-feet, one-lane one-way width in lieu of the required minimum of 24-feet, two-lane one-way width along the St. Peter Street bridge.
    • Variance from 8820.9995 MINIMUM OFF-ROAD AND SHARED USE PATH STANDARDS.
      • The request is to allow a reduce Shoulder/Clear Zone of 1-foot in lieu of the required minimum of 2-feet on St. Peter Street between W 11th Street and W Exchange Street.
  5. Variance Request 20251218-05 (PDF), SP 062-621-012: City-Little Canada - 2026 Little Canada Road Improvement Project, is for a
    • Variance from 8820.9936 MINIMUM DESIGN STANDARDS, URBAN; NEW OR RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
      • The request is to allow a reduced design speed in lieu of the required 30 mph at roundabout to accommodate a raised walk
      • A signed resolution is pending. A draft resolution is included in the request

Expenses

Currently, all variance advisory committee meetings are held online, and no travel expenses are anticipated for committee members unless you need to travel to a separate location to participate in the meeting. If you do need to travel to a different work location and as a result have an eligible expense for reimbursement, please contact Scott Smith prior to the meeting at scott.a.smith@state.mn.us.